Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between script writers and journalists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a script writer and a journalist. Additionally, a script writer has an average salary of $64,254, which is higher than the $60,828 average annual salary of a journalist.
The top three skills for a script writer include test cases, test scripts and database. The most important skills for a journalist are news stories, multimedia, and story development.
| Script Writer | Journalist | |
| Yearly salary | $64,254 | $60,828 |
| Hourly rate | $30.89 | $29.24 |
| Growth rate | 6% | -10% |
| Number of jobs | 15,222 | 11,488 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 46 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Scriptwriting is an art and craft that requires both imagination and creativity to create entertaining content and tell a story in both dialogue and picture. The script can be educational, training, film, television programs, or entertainment. The duties and responsibilities include creating characters and coming up with skeleton plots for the producer to direct the narrative and determine the outcome of events.
A journalist is responsible for creating written correspondence, covering various subjects as the management requires. This task involves a lot of research investigations, conducting interviews, and gathering reliable sources to verify the authenticity of data before releasing the articles on news portals and other social platforms. Journalists should have excellent communication skills, both written and oral, conveying information to the target audience with high accuracy and efficiency. They analyze opinions and testimonies, create eye-catching headlines, and ensure adherence to deadlines.
Script writers and journalists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Script Writer | Journalist | |
| Average salary | $64,254 | $60,828 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $106,000 | Between $38,000 And $95,000 |
| Highest paying City | Pleasanton, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | New York |
| Best paying company | Snap | Bloomberg |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a script writer and a journalist in terms of educational background:
| Script Writer | Journalist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Communication | Journalism |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between script writers' and journalists' demographics:
| Script Writer | Journalist | |
| Average age | 46 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8% | Male, 46.6% Female, 53.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 8.7% White, 71.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.6% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 10% |